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Saturday, May 30, 2015

Alcohol And Energy Drinks A Dangerous Combo, Study Says

Researchers
have published a study that shows college students combining caffeinateddrinks
with booze don’t realize how intoxicated they really are.

In a study published
in the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers at the Institute for
Social Research at the University of Michigan have concluded that mixing
alcohol and energy drinks poses a serious public health risk, especially among
college students.

"We found that
college students tended to drink more heavily, become more intoxicated, and
have more negative drinking consequences on days they used both energy drinks
and alcohol, compared to days they only used alcohol," said Megan Patrick,
a research assistant professor and co-author of the study.

According to the study,
students who either drank alcohol and energy drinks on the same day or who
combined the two at the same time wound up spending more time drinking – thus
consuming more alcohol – than they would have without the caffeinated drinks.

The result of spending
more hours drinking raised users' blood alcohol levels to higher peaks.

But because of the
stimulant effects of the energy drinks, the users reported that they felt less
drunk than they actually were.

"This can have
serious potential health impacts, for example if people don't realize how
intoxicated they actually are and decide to drive home," Patrick said.

But a similar study
conducted by the Department of Community Health at the Boston University School
of Public Health found that it wasn’t necessarily the combination of alcohol
and caffeine that posed a risk, but the profile of the drinkers themselves that
led to negative consequences.

"It appears that the
consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages has a direct effect on
increasing risk by masking intoxication and making it easier for youth to
consume more alcohol,” said Dr. Michael Siegel, one of the authors of the
Boston University’s study.

“It also appears that
consumption of alcohol with caffeine may itself be a marker for youth who
engage in riskier behavior.”

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